Bones Brigade: An Autobiography

Bones Brigade: An Autobiography – a bunch of geeky misfits brought together to become the crew of skaters who transformed and dominated the shit out of the skateboarding world. Given that the director was the Bones Brigade manager, there’s a lot of access and great footage of the kids at their peak, battling each other and inventing & pioneering the modern skater trickbook. My only exposure to skateboarding has been the amazing Tony Hawks games and the original cKy videos (interesting to see how much they were influenced by the BB skate vids). This film is packed with skateboarding royalty (i.e. most people from the THPS Player Select menu!). Despite all of the big names and personalities, the unassuming Rodney Mullen steals the show – as the most intricate trickster, and the most open interviewee – closely followed by the batshit mental Duane Peters!  While it’s all a bit inward looking, self-promoting, and a little manipulative (big aperture, soppy music etc), this is an affectionate glimpse back into one of the sports’ golden ages, by those at the cutting edge. Well made, and interesting skate-documentary.

Score: 6.5/10